1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hour meters for recording the operating time of monitored engines, and more particularly to an engine operating time recording apparatus of the type including a mechanical counter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hour meters are commonly used to measure the running or operating time of various equipment for scheduling preventive maintenance. Disadvantages of known mechanical hour meters include the imprecise recording of time and unreliability. Many digital and electro-mechanical hour meters have the same disadvantages and also can be used for limited applications due to the power source requirements.
An hour meter that overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,875 issued Jan. 15, 1991 to Paul Mitchell and assigned to the present assignee. The disclosed engine operating time hour meter is particularly useful for recording the operating time of small engines being completely powered by an internal magneto-type electrical generator of a monitored engine. Further, the disclosed engine operating time hour meter includes a mechanical counter and is reliable and accurate.
It is desirable to provide an hour meter that is reliable and accurate while having a simple and efficient arrangement that is inexpensive to manufacture.